17 Days In Hell- The Horrific Abduction Of Katie Beers

Katherine Beers was born in the United States on December30,1982. When she was 9 years old, a family friend named John Esposito took her from Bay Shore, New York, and held her in a bunker from December28,1992, to January13, 1993.

Katie Beers lived on Long Island, New York, with her mother Marilyn Beers and her older half-brother John Beers. Katie Beers lived on Long Island, New York, with her mother Marilyn Beers and her older half-brother John Beers.

Katie also lived with her godmother Linda Inghilleri and her husband Salvatore when she was very young. Marilyn often forgot about Katie and John and left them in the care of the Inghilleris, who would beat them and sexually assault them, especially Salvatore.

John Esposito was a friend of the Beers family. He gave Katie and John Beers a lot of attention and gifts, but he also sexually abused John.

The Abduction Of Katie

Two days before Katie Beers turned 10, on December 28, 1992, John Esposito offered to take her shopping for her birthday, but instead he took her to his house. Esposito, who was 43, lived with his family at 1416 Saxon Avenue in Bay Shore, a small town on Long Island with a middle-class population.

Esposito was a builder, so he built his own apartment on top of the garage, just a few yards from the main house.

After playing a video game in Esposito's room, Beers forced her into a concrete bunker underground.

The 6-by-7-foot bunker hill was in Esposito's garden, and a 6-foot-long tunnel led to it. The entrance tunnel was hidden by a 200-pound concrete trap door and a bookcase in Esposito's office that could be moved. There was a toilet and a closed-circuit TV system in the bunker.

Beers was chained up in a small, soundproof room the size of a coffin that had a bed and a TV. Esposito later told the police that he had built the bunker just for Beers. 

With Beers as his prisoner, Esposito came up with a reason for her disappearance and an alibi for himself. He made Beers record a taped message saying that a man with a knife had kidnapped her.

Then, Esposito went to the Neconset Spaceplex arcade and used a pay phone outside to play Beers' message. After that, the man who took Beers went into the arcade and pretended to be in a panic, telling the staff that he had lost Beers inside.

Her Life In The Bunker

Esposito would often visit Beers while she was in captivity to sexually abuse her and give her food, blankets, and toys. He let Beers into the bigger part of the bunker when he came to see her, but when she was alone, he made her go back to the smaller room.

Beers was able to escape to the bigger room when Esposito wasn't there by putting a key under her pillow, but she couldn't get out of the bunker itself. Esposito told Beers that he was going to lock her up in the bunker for the rest of her life.

The Surprising Rescue Of Katie Beers

When Katie Beers went missing, Esposito was a main suspect because of what he had done in the past and how close he was to the family. They also knew that Esposito's phone call was a recording because there was no other noise in the background, and witnesses at Spaceplex said that Esposito was the only one there the day Katie Beers went missing.

Under constant surveillance and a lot of pressure, Esposito gave in and confessed through his lawyer on January 13, 1993. This led police to Beers' concrete prison. She was stuck under the ground for 17 days.

On June 16, 1994, Esposito admitted to kidnapping and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. In exchange for the plea, ten charges, such as sexual abuse and putting a child's life in danger, were dropped. Sal Inghilleri didn't get away with anything either. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing Beers before she was taken.

John Esposito was found dead in his prison cell on September 4, 2013. It looked like he died of natural causes.

Katie Beers was put with a loving foster family right away in East Hampton, New York. This gave her a chance to leave behind a life of abuse.

Katie Beers relived the pain of being locked up as an adult by co-writing her memoir and becoming a motivational speaker. She lives with her husband and two kids in a small town in Pennsylvania.